To Find Balance in an Ireland of Inner Turbulence
At the threshold of the millennium, Ireland is in some turbulence. Many of the sacred facades have been pulled down in the domains of religion, politics and finance. The unmasking has revealed corruption in all of these domains. These revelations have dulled and damaged our sense of and belief in ideals. They have caused disillusionment and cynicism. The positive side of this is that it relieves us of over-dependence on false crutches; it invites us to depend more on our own courage and critique. But, there is a danger in all of this clearing out that we will throw out many of the values that have sustained, refined and deepened us as a people. I do believe that Ireland has something very special, something very unique in Europe, and we really are at a crossroads with it. Of course, not everything was perfect. With the old kind of lifestyle, there was a lot of poverty, drudgery and slavery of work. There were the valleys of the squinting windows. There was the awful repression of the 1930s and 1940s in Ireland, when so many lovely innocent people were totally sinned against in the most sinister ways. There is that negative shadow in our tradition. But this is not the full story. Our tradition also has huge spiritual, imaginative and wisdom riches. There was a sense of proportion, a sense of belonging, a sense of being in a tradition that we are now in danger of losing completely.
Ireland is predominantly a folk culture. The issue for me at the level of principle is that it seems to take hundreds of years for a folk culture to weave itself, and yet so often, with the infusion of the consumerism virus, such a cultural fabric unravels in a very short time. The question then is: what hidden resources are there within our culture that can help us to stand at this very severing crossroads and still hold what is precious to us from our tradition, to guide us over the threshold into the new millennium? It is a very important question because many people who are spiritually, theologically and philosophically awakened look to Ireland and see something here that we ourselves often do not see. It will demand a great vision and leadership to engage all the tensions of our present turbulence and find a path that still vitally connects with the heart of the Irish tradition and yet engages the modern milieu openly and creatively. A tradition is a living presence. To reacquaint ourselves with the brightness as well as the darkness in our tradition could be an important first step.
The pace and rate of development in contemporary Ireland is quite alarming. Ireland seems to be a huge target for major development. There are people who would sell everything for any kind of development and short-term gain. This is difficult to comprehend, given the terrible history we have had of being exiled from our own land. Now that we have finally got the land, it is almost as if we are not able to be at ease with it and inhabit it and recognize its beauty. I am not saying that there should be no development—of course there should be. People need to live. I am saying that we should have greater openness towards forms of development that do not destroy our environment. It is hugely important because it is not just ours—we are custodians of it for our children, who will inhabit it after us.
A government is elected constitutionally to protect a people against conquest, yet the economic consumerist conquest that is going on in Ireland is just unbelievable. In Connemara, the people say, Tá an nádúr ag imeacht as na daoine, the nature is going out of people. When people have very little, it is natural for them to be close. I am not romanticizing poverty; it is a horrible thing, full of drudgery. Think of all the people who had to emigrate because there was nothing for them. But yet there was some kind of nádúr, or closeness. It seems to be impossible for a culture to develop economically and get really rich and yet maintain the same nádúr and closeness. So the question is: where could we find new places to awaken something in us in order that we do not lose that sense of nádúr and of belonging with each other?
Our heritage, rather than being something that can enable us to stand critically, worthily and courageously on the threshold of this new millennium, is now being converted into almost a fast-food product, that can be read off in ten minutes by a visiting tour bus somewhere. This is a very important issue. There is an ancient memory and a tradition that has huge archaic layers. We should be a lot more confident and a lot more courageous as we go into the new millennium, and we should try to work with an idea of balance that is equal to that complex history and that somehow allows us to stand with a critical sense at the edge of this new millennium and cross over with a certain kind of confidence.
For Equilibrium
Like the joy of the sea coming home to shore,
May the relief of laughter rinse through your
soul.
As the wind loves to call things to dance,
May your gravity be lightened by grace.
Like the dignity of moonlight restoring the
earth,
May your thoughts incline with reverence and
respect.
As water takes whatever shape it is in,
So free may you be about who you become.
As silence smiles on the other side of what’s said,
May your sense of irony bring perspective.
As time remains free of all that it frames,
May your mind stay clear of all it names.
May your prayer of listening deepen enough
To hear in the depths the laughter of God.
From To Bless the Space Between Us
AGING
“Old age can be a time of great liberation and freedom.”
The six-part series “L Plus” was a practical guide to the later years of life. One aspect of those years that needed to be addressed was the onset of old age and ultimately mortality. John had written so positively and poetically in Anam Cara about aging and death that I wished to include him as a contributor to the series. This conversation was recorded in the office of Marriage Relationship and Counseling Services in Dublin, where John had given a talk in April 1998.